Telangana witnesses a spike in swine flu numbers, reports 150 cases so far

The number of swine flu cases in Telangana has risen. As many as 150 people have tested positive for swine flu in the state so far and experts fear that the number may increase in the coming days. "So far, we have tested around 370 people for swine flu, out of which 150 have reported positive. After dengue season is over, swine flu season starts in September month every year, which will continue till February," said Dr. Shankar, Director of Institute of Preventive Medicine, Telangana.

'People should take all measures to protect themselves'

He said the government has already deployed medical staff across the state to keep a tab on the swine flu cases. "We expect to have around 200 positive cases swine flu this season. People should take all measures to protect themselves from this disease," added Dr. Shankar.

Telangana HC: Put swine flu precautions in place

On January 2, the Telangana High Court had directed the state government to submit details with regard to efforts to include private hospitals and diagnostic centres in tackling the impending swine flu threat. A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy, was dealing with two PILs related to inadequate medical facilities in government hospitals to deal with epidemics like dengue, swine flu, malaria and other fevers.

As there were no equipped government diagnostic labs in the district headquarters, and only two government hospitals in Hyderabad have the facility to diagnose swine flu, the court, on an earlier occasion, had directed the state to involve private hospitals to shoulder the responsibility to deal with swine-flu. In response to the court orders, the government recently submitted that it has taken concrete steps to make people be aware of the symptoms and treatment by distributing around 15 lakh pamphlets and two lakh posters.

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Swine flu is an infection caused by one of several swine influenza viruses (SIV), with the H1N1 strain being the most common across the country. It is a self-limiting viral, air-borne disease spread from person to person, through large droplets generated due to coughing and sneezing, indirect contact by touching a contaminated object or surface and close contact, including handshaking and hugging.

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(with ANI inputs)

(Representational image)